Can Vermont prevent backcountry skiers 'from doing stupid stuff?'

Law-enforcement opposes penalties for people who go off trails

Feb. 26, 2013

David Goodman, a backcountry skiing enthusiast and author of a guide to backcountry ski trails, urged lawmakers not to create a penalty for requiring a rescue because it could damage the state's growing brand for such skiing. / Nancy Remsen/Free Press

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Free Press Staff Writer

MONTPELIER — State Police rescue units have participated in 15 backcountry searches for 50 lost skiers this winter, with 48 of the skiers getting lost after they ventured off the designated trails at the Killington and Pico ski resorts.

This epidemic of skiers in need of rescue prompted Sen. Kevin Mullin, R-Rutland, to propose a deterrent — the possibility of a criminal charge and a fine of up to $500.

“This comes out of frustration,” Mullin told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee where his proposal was sent for review.

Committee members acknowledged the problem, but Chairman Richard Sears, D-Bennington, noted, “The real issue is how do we prevent people from doing stupid stuff?”

Backcountry skiing enthusiasts told the committee they worried about the effect on tourism if the state made it a crime to ski out of bounds and lose one’s way.

“I certainly don’t want to interfere with the ski business,” Sears said. “It is a huge money engine for the state.”

Law enforcement officials said they worried the threat of a criminal charge and fine would discourage people from calling for help until it was dark and their situation had become dire — making rescue risky for those lost and those searching.

“We do want to encourage people, when they get in trouble, to call,” Public Safety Commissioner Keith Flynn told the committee.

“You feel a crime would discourage that?” Sears asked.

“Yes,” Flynn replied.

“You feel the bill is unnecessary?” Sears continued.

“We do,” Flynn said. He noted that law enforcement had teamed up with Killington to increase skier education and promote safety with public service announcements. There has only been one incident since the educational campaign began, he said.

Vermont already has a law that allows ski areas, rescue units, towns or the state to bring a civil action to recoup expenses connected with rescuing people who stray outside the boundaries and designated trails of ski areas, Erik Fitzpatrick, the committee’s legal counsel, reminded members.

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No one could say if any civil actions had been pursued, but Parker Riehle, president of the Vermont Ski Areas Association, said several ski areas send bills to skiers who had to be rescued by ski patrollers — with mixed results.

Riehle said the skiers who get lost are a tough demographic to reach with a message of caution. They are 18-25-year-olds, single males from out of state, he said, noting “There hasn’t been a single Vermont skier lost this year at Killington.”

The ski association didn’t support Mullin’s idea of criminalizing off-trail skiing, Riehle said. “This is definitely not the answer,” but he added that ski areas members were open to other ideas to curb the risky behavior. Riehle offered an explanation for the concentration of rescues at the Killington/Pico ski areas. The topography there makes it easy for out-of-bounds skiers to end up miles from roads. By contrast, Riehle said, “Stratton has a lot of lost skiers every year, but they know where they go.” As a result, police are rarely called to help there.

David Goodman of Waterbury, author of “Best Backcountry Skiing in the Northeast,” cautioned lawmakers against enacting a remedy that would have serious consequences to the state’s brand as a destination for backcountry skiing.

He held up a Feb. 17 page in The New York Times travel section that had promoted backcountry skiing on trails carved out of the woods 80 years ago by the Civilian Conservation Corps in Vermont, New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

He reminded lawmakers that it wasn’t illegal to duck ropes or ski by boundary markers. He explained that many traditional backcountry trails are accessed from ski areas and he showed the committee videos of several of these trails on his computer.

“There isn’t an easy answer to this problem,” Goodman said, but he urged a “measured, sensible response.”

“Where do we want to go from here?” Sears asked his committee after they had listened to 90 minutes of testimony.

Sen. Jeanette White, D-Windham, suggested holding off on any action this session to see the impact of the public education effort.

Sears suggested the Legislature could ask law enforcement for a report next year — to keep the issue alive. “If people behave,” he said, “we won’t bring it up.”

No one on the committee seemed eager to pursue a remedy this year.

Sen. Joe Benning, R-Caledonia, closed the discussion by saying, “If we start criminalizing what we think is dumb, we will have an endless avalanche.”